debnwade

My son's 10th grade German Class is interested in putting together a 7-9 day trip to Germany from Louisville, Kentucky during their spring break in April. Many of the students have had 2-3 years of German and would like to take in some history, culture, etc. Can anyone recommend a relatively "simple" trip for about 20 students and 4 adults that doesn't cost a lot. 4-5 places to see and experience that are close together and won't require much travel time once they arrive?

wally34949

Germany has many nice hostels that are cheap and guarantee each person their own twin bed. Often the hostel can direct individuals where to eat cheap.

I would recommend flying into Munich, and flying out of Berlin. Check airfares on Air Berlin.

debnwade

Thanks for your suggestion. I will check this out. Would you recommend Munich, Berlin and whatever may be inbetween as the places to visit? How far apart are they?

ncgrrl

I would go to Berlin or Munich. Though it might be cheaper to fly into Frankfurt.

If you go with Munich or Frankfort you can visit the Romantic Road. Also the Cinderella castle (egads, I have to spell it, Newschwanstein) is a day trip. Other 'mad' King Ludwig castles, Linderhoff and Hohenstein (yikes, my spelling stinks) are close.

Near Frankfurt is the town of Mainz. This is where Gutenberg came up with his press. You could tour the museum there.

Munich isn't too far from Saltzburg and you could take in the "Sound of Music" tour.

In Berlin you could take in museums and WWII history.

Look around the classroom and see what pictures are displayed. Use that as a starting point.

tomboy

Has the class's German teacher been in touch with anyone at all in the education field? We've a friend who teaches German who's been taking her classes to Germany for maybe 15 years, hosting in return a German (near Hanover) class which studies English & which visits the USA. I get the impression that German teachers in the USA are aware of, and in contact with, other German teachers; likewise English teachers in Deutschland. It strikes me your son's teacher should be in contact professionally with such personnel.

capxxx

My son's school does this every year....

+ Check out the GAPP program (German American Partnership Program) for advice -- your school may be able to hook up with a German school.

+ Lufthansa (and maybe other airlines) offers a student group deal with some nice features -- for example, any member of the group can get a ride back home in an emergency (basically free rebooking of the return trip).

+ The fewer different places you stay, the less chance of lost luggage, late schedules, students who miss the bus, etc. It might be good to limit to two towns and take day trips.

+ How about Munich as a base, with day trips to Neuschwanstein, the Black Forest, Rothenberg, Dachau, cable car up a mountain, and tours of museums in Munich. They can hire a tourbus for part of the time and the driver can worry about routes. The driver can also get you to another city for a few day's visit, like Berlin or Salzberg.

+ Train is also a possibility but perhaps less `simple' for the shepherds, um, teachers, to manage.

+ Are you interested in hearing about the `ground rules' for students that the teachers establish before the trip?

capxxx

Sorry, I don't mean Black Forest, I mean Bavarian Forest.

holakjs

Tomboy is right. The teacher should have professional connections. Obviously, the administration and school board are involved. In this litigious culture, this is not a simple family holiday, and the situation has become more complicated after 9/11. The person who recommended GAPP is on track
as well. (I am a retired Spanish teacher who has taken students on various kinds of trips to Spain and Mexico for over 30 years.)

hhildebrandt

what about berlin? they try so hard to be a big city ;-) as it is the capital, after all,
berlin offers a lot of sights of historic and cultural concern and berlin is said to be quite priceworthy. for students, there are also specials and rebates or knockoffs, so check out before.
in addition, as a school class they can try to get admission to bundestag or berliner senat or meet a german school class if they do their homework, i.e. some internet research.
for berlin school administration, try http://www.senbjs.berlin.de/index.asp

wally34949

There really isn't much in Frankfurt. But do check out www.airberlin.com. I booked a one way flight from Zurich to Berlin for only $68 last summer. Great airline, too. Most airlines will fly into one city and out of another city so try a Multi-city search. Don't book your airfare too soon as airlines should cut prices for April. If the kids pack lite, they should be able to take public transportation from the airport to downtown. I paid 2 euros to take public transportation from downtown Berlin to the airport--not bad. The airport in Munich is not close to the city. Takes a good 30 minutes by train to get to the city. Don't take a taxi. Also good experience for the kids to learn how public transportation works. In Germany, it is on the honor system.

Note: Some hostels have coed rooms. Visit www.bookhostels.com or www.hostelz.com to read up on hostels. Some have kitchens so you could actually cook your own meals.

capxxx

Another possibility: Fly in and out of Frankfurt and spend 3 nights each in small cities: Mainz (closest to Ffurt airport), Trier (great roman ruins), Koln, or Heidelberg (cathedrals). These are very walkable cities; use the chartered bus idea (or reserved train tickets) to get from town to town. Sign up for a Rhine river cruise and see some castles.

diddl_maus

Look at the link for OIK. Organization for International Contact.
http://www.oik.org/
They specialize in tours for groups. They can arrange home stay programs if desired.

anewbol3

I would consider looking into EF Educational Tours (www.eftours.com). I tagged along on a tour with a group of High School German students who used EF Tours. It was wonderful. The tours include air and hotel accommodations and all transportation and entrance fees into many museums etc. for a very reasonable price. Plus you have a multi-lingual tour guide with you that arranges for everything. It makes for a wonderful, hassle-free experience. They offer a number of tours through Germany. What is great is that these tours are for teenagers so everything is geared to doing things that they would want to do at their pace, seeing the major highlights but allowing plenty of free time for exploring on their own, shopping, etc.